The World of Forgotten Disney

Harold the Merman

In honor of The Little Mermaid's 26th Anniversary

Harold the Merman: The Little Mermaid

Deleted Disney Character

Harold is a scrawny looking merman, with round, thick rimmed glasses. He has a large rounded nose on his face, and messy hair. He has a very curled up posture and also stutters when nervous.

He is a depressed and a nervous merman. He is willing to have muscles to impress the ladies by bringing Ursula a fresh water lily.

Harold originally was to appear in a scene with Ursula, sometime before she meets with Ariel.

Harold returns to Ursula after having failed his end of a bargain with her. He wanted to impress the ladies, and Ursula would give him super strength to do so, but in exchange, he needed to bring her a fresh water lily in three days. What Ursula didn't tell him, was that they were out of season, and in three days, Harold hadn't found one.

Harold, finally realizing he had been tricked, was unable to do anything about his situation and was left to Ursula's power, transforming him into a shriveled up polyp.

By the end of the movie, he is transformed back into a normal merman; after which, his fate is unknown.

Harold's scene was removed from the film because the film was becoming too long and was going over budget, but was considered a favorite by directors, John Musker, and Ron Clements, because of his nerdiness being reminiscent of them.

Harold's was actually revealed a few years back in a leaked script to the alternate Little Mermaid ending, where he was turned back to normal after Ursula was defeated.

Harold also makes an appearance in the storyboarded version of Poor Unfortunate Souls, where he is projected in Ursula's cauldron, being transformed into a buff man. But later, when Ursula describes those who failed to pay her price, the camera cuts to a polyp with glasses. Suggesting Harold's fate.

It's possible that Harold can still be seen in the final movie. In Ursula's garden, there is a polyp with extremely large glasses similar to the ones Harold wore, suggesting that while his scene was taken out, he is still there, making him more of a cameo instead of all around deleted.